1. What should you expect when it comes to care for your teeth?

    Advice and Information -

    Four questions staff should ask you or a loved one about your oral health if you’re a care home resident, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quick guide.

  2. What is adult social care?

    Advice and Information -

    Do you or a loved one need help with social care? Read the article below and find out answers to key questions about who can access adult social care and how to pay for it.

  3. What is adult social care?

    Advice and Information -

    Do you or a loved one need help with social care? Healthwatch England has put together a useful guide about who can access adult social care and how to pay for it.

  4. Enter and View report Springvale Court 26 October 2016

    Report -

    Part of the local Healthwatch programme is to carry out Enter and View visits. Local Healthwatch representatives carry out these visits to health and social care services to find out how they are being run and make recommendations where there are areas for improvement.

  5. Enter and View report - Hawksbury House Care Home

    Advice and Information -

    Part of the local Healthwatch programme is to carry out Enter and View visits. Local Healthwatch representatives carry out these visits to health and social care services to find out how they are being run and make recommendations where there are areas for improvement. The Health and Social Care Act allows local Healthwatch authorised representatives to observe service delivery and talk to service users, their families and carers on premises such as hospitals, residential homes, GP practices, dental surgeries, optometrists and pharmacies. Enter and View visits can happen if people tell us there is a problem with a service but, equally, they can occur when services have a good reputation – so we can learn about and share examples of what they do well from the perspective of people who
    experience the service first hand.

  6. What does urgent care mean to me?

    Report -

    A joint report with Healthwatch Newcastle on what urgent care means to local people.

  7. Where can I go to get help for my health out of hours?

    Advice and Information -

    Health issues unfortunately don't leave us alone at the weekend and people are often in need of medical assistance out of hours. Using NHS guidelines, we have provided some advice and information on where you can go for help when your GP is closed.

  8. What is domestic abuse and how can I get support?

    Advice and Information -

    If you are experiencing or feel at risk of domestic abuse, or are worried about someone who might be, find out where you can go for advice and help.

  9. What is Monkeypox and who can get a vaccine?

    Advice and Information -

    Find out the signs and symptoms of monkeypox, what to do if you think you have it and who is eligible for a vaccine.

  10. Healthwatch Gateshead and Newcastle October online forum

    Blog -

    Our monthly forums are a chance for anyone and everyone to learn more about health and social care services in our area. We aim to keep you updated with any changes to services in particular, and health and social care in general. This is for sharing, so while we have a lot to say, we also want to hear your views and feedback, and answer your questions.

  11. NHS dentistry myth busting

    Advice and Information -

    Healthwatch in the North East have acted on feedback from local people. Together, we have produced a ‘myth busting’ booklet to dispel the most common rumours about NHS dentistry.

    The leaflet gives the facts about what it means to be registered with a practice, why you may be offered a private appointment and what is emergency care?

    Download the NHS dentistry myth busting booklet

  12. Patient safety incident reporting

    News -

    Did you know members of the public can now report patient safety incidents directly to the NHS’s National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS)?

  13. Lost in translation

    Report -

    In early 2020 we worked with The Gateshead Housing Company. We gathered experiences of their service users on accessing Arabic interpreting and translation services for health appointments in Gateshead.

  14. Healthwatch Participation in Practice Award 2019-2022 interim report

    Report -

    It has been a contractual requirement for each GP practice since April 2016 to have an active and involved Patient Participation Group (PPG).

    We wanted to create a best practice award for PPGs aims to increase and improve the involvement of patients in their GP practice. Several GP practices in Newcastle and Gateshead participated in our pilot from autumn 2019 to February 2021. This interim report outlines what we did.

  15. Useful Resources

    Advice and Information -

    We’ve compiled a number of useful links and downloadable resources to help you stay informed.